In the spirit of futurist probes into what a next-gen learning management system (LMS) may look like, the author uses a...
see more

In the spirit of futurist probes into what a next-gen learning management system (LMS) may look like, the author uses a sci-fi scenario to touch on some distant possibilities. This fictional work follows J4 in his quest to break into the Fulcrum Arena and emerge with the information and strategic relationships he needs to achieve mysterious aims. This story envisions a learning space that integrates various databases, global positioning systems (GPS), and other technologies into an integrated digital enclosure. It focuses on informational elites, those who have the rawest and freshest information, vs. those who get processed versions through public channels. Here, identities are persistent and coalesced through information collected by bots. The learning is all strategic, its immersive, and it directly applies to the lived world.

Pick a Bookmark Collection or Course ePortfolio to put this material in or scroll to the bottom to create a new Bookmark Collection

Name the Bookmark Collection to represent the materials you will add

Describe the Bookmark Collection so other MERLOT users will know what it contains and if it has value for their work or teaching. Other users can copy your Bookmark Collection to their own profile and modify it to save time

Edit the information about the material in this {0}

Submitting Bookmarks...

Select this link to open drop down to add material Breaking into the Fulcrum Arena: A Concept Paper Looking Beyond Next Generation LMS to your Bookmark Collection or Course ePortfolio

Select this link to close drop down of your Bookmark Collection or Course ePortfolio for material Breaking into the Fulcrum Arena: A Concept Paper Looking Beyond Next Generation LMS

Select this link to open drop down to add material Breaking into the Fulcrum Arena: A Concept Paper Looking Beyond Next Generation LMS to your Bookmark Collection or Course ePortfolio

Online education has become a rapidly developing educational alternative. Many universities deliver online courses across a...
see more

Online education has become a rapidly developing educational alternative. Many universities deliver online courses across a variety of disciplines. However, few studies have evaluated the efficiency of online health and wellness courses. The purpose of this study was to examine achievement and satisfaction in students who participated in an online or a traditional lecture-based health and wellness class. Eighteen subjects in an online health and wellness class and nineteen subjects in a traditional lecture-based class participated in this study. Outcomes included performance on a 50-point written exam (pre- and posttest) and three regular course exams. All participants completed a satisfaction survey. The online participants completed a perception survey. No significant differences were found between online and traditional courses in the 50-point written exam or in the three regular course exams. Significant differences were found in age, employment status, year in school, and the degree to which participants felt that they were encouraged to participate in class discussions. Overall, perceptions of the online course were positive. Data suggests that an online health and wellness class was an acceptable alternative to a traditional lecture-based class, when achievement on exams was the primary outcome measure. Key Words: distance education, physical education, lecture-based, knowledge acquisition, no significant difference, perceptions, employment status, age, class standing.

Pick a Bookmark Collection or Course ePortfolio to put this material in or scroll to the bottom to create a new Bookmark Collection

Name the Bookmark Collection to represent the materials you will add

Describe the Bookmark Collection so other MERLOT users will know what it contains and if it has value for their work or teaching. Other users can copy your Bookmark Collection to their own profile and modify it to save time

Edit the information about the material in this {0}

Submitting Bookmarks...

Select this link to open drop down to add material Achievement and Satisfaction in an Online versus a Traditional Health and Wellness Course to your Bookmark Collection or Course ePortfolio

Select this link to close drop down of your Bookmark Collection or Course ePortfolio for material Achievement and Satisfaction in an Online versus a Traditional Health and Wellness Course

Select this link to open drop down to add material Achievement and Satisfaction in an Online versus a Traditional Health and Wellness Course to your Bookmark Collection or Course ePortfolio

Computer literacy is critical to student success in higher education today. Assessment of student knowledge related to...
see more

Computer literacy is critical to student success in higher education today. Assessment of student knowledge related to computers is generally for either hardware capabilities or overall ability, without an assessment of specific computer competencies. The focus of this study was to identify the literacy level of nursing students over a 7-year period to assess which computer competencies need the most support and development and to determine how literacy levels varied in successive years. A convenience sample (N = 401) of undergraduate nursing students admitted from 1999 to 2005 were given an assessment of computer literacy at the beginning of the upper-division nursing program. Results indicated that the literacy of students increased with each successive group of students. Literacy varied across technological functions, with students having the lowest literacy levels in the data inquiry skill set, and students who owned computers were more computer literate than those who did not. An assessment of general computer literacy can provide an overall appraisal of computer competency, but it is important to examine the separate dimensions of specific skills within general knowledge, as these are the points on which faculty will need to focus. Keywords: computer skills, online learning, student assessment

Pick a Bookmark Collection or Course ePortfolio to put this material in or scroll to the bottom to create a new Bookmark Collection

Name the Bookmark Collection to represent the materials you will add

Describe the Bookmark Collection so other MERLOT users will know what it contains and if it has value for their work or teaching. Other users can copy your Bookmark Collection to their own profile and modify it to save time

Edit the information about the material in this {0}

Submitting Bookmarks...

Select this link to open drop down to add material Computer Literacy in a Traditional Nursing Program: A 7-Year Study to Identify Computer-Based Skills Needed for Success to your Bookmark Collection or Course ePortfolio

Select this link to close drop down of your Bookmark Collection or Course ePortfolio for material Computer Literacy in a Traditional Nursing Program: A 7-Year Study to Identify Computer-Based Skills Needed for Success

Select this link to open drop down to add material Computer Literacy in a Traditional Nursing Program: A 7-Year Study to Identify Computer-Based Skills Needed for Success to your Bookmark Collection or Course ePortfolio

Web 2.0 has emerged into a large, growing, and developing world of content and platforms. Gaming has rapidly expanded into a...
see more

Web 2.0 has emerged into a large, growing, and developing world of content and platforms. Gaming has rapidly expanded into a global industry. In contrast course management systems have developed along very different lines. We examine ways for the CMS to connect with these two worlds, outlining areas for possible development: increased hyperlinking, internal platforms and instances, and extruded applications. Additionally we consider ways by which the CMS can learn strategically and conceptually from Web 2.0 and gaming.

Pick a Bookmark Collection or Course ePortfolio to put this material in or scroll to the bottom to create a new Bookmark Collection

Name the Bookmark Collection to represent the materials you will add

Describe the Bookmark Collection so other MERLOT users will know what it contains and if it has value for their work or teaching. Other users can copy your Bookmark Collection to their own profile and modify it to save time

Edit the information about the material in this {0}

Submitting Bookmarks...

Select this link to open drop down to add material Deepening the Chasm: Web 2.0, Gaming, and Course Management Systems to your Bookmark Collection or Course ePortfolio

Select this link to close drop down of your Bookmark Collection or Course ePortfolio for material Deepening the Chasm: Web 2.0, Gaming, and Course Management Systems

Select this link to open drop down to add material Deepening the Chasm: Web 2.0, Gaming, and Course Management Systems to your Bookmark Collection or Course ePortfolio

This paper uses specific issues surrounding course blogging to provide a series of reflections regarding the articulation...
see more

This paper uses specific issues surrounding course blogging to provide a series of reflections regarding the articulation between pedagogy and technology in creating a next generation learning space and discourse community. It investigates the underlying structure and necessary constituent elements of a successful blog assignment and examines the notion of natural and unnatural virtual environments and the roles of the reader and the writer-reader. It suggests that blog assignments may not succeed equally well in all subject areas and gives a number of possible reasons. Furthermore, it posits a more nuanced criterion for the definition of goals and the evaluation of the success of a blog assignment as a learning community beyond the presence or absence of comments.

Pick a Bookmark Collection or Course ePortfolio to put this material in or scroll to the bottom to create a new Bookmark Collection

Name the Bookmark Collection to represent the materials you will add

Describe the Bookmark Collection so other MERLOT users will know what it contains and if it has value for their work or teaching. Other users can copy your Bookmark Collection to their own profile and modify it to save time

Edit the information about the material in this {0}

Submitting Bookmarks...

Select this link to open drop down to add material Defining Tools for a New Learning Space: Writing and Reading Class Blogs to your Bookmark Collection or Course ePortfolio

Select this link to close drop down of your Bookmark Collection or Course ePortfolio for material Defining Tools for a New Learning Space: Writing and Reading Class Blogs

Select this link to open drop down to add material Defining Tools for a New Learning Space: Writing and Reading Class Blogs to your Bookmark Collection or Course ePortfolio

Pick a Bookmark Collection or Course ePortfolio to put this material in or scroll to the bottom to create a new Bookmark Collection

Name the Bookmark Collection to represent the materials you will add

Describe the Bookmark Collection so other MERLOT users will know what it contains and if it has value for their work or teaching. Other users can copy your Bookmark Collection to their own profile and modify it to save time

Edit the information about the material in this {0}

Submitting Bookmarks...

Select this link to open drop down to add material Facebook goes to college: using social networking tools to support students undertaking teaching practicum to your Bookmark Collection or Course ePortfolio

Select this link to close drop down of your Bookmark Collection or Course ePortfolio for material Facebook goes to college: using social networking tools to support students undertaking teaching practicum

Select this link to open drop down to add material Facebook goes to college: using social networking tools to support students undertaking teaching practicum to your Bookmark Collection or Course ePortfolio

The proliferation of immersive, three dimensional virtual environments presents educators with a moment of creative...
see more

The proliferation of immersive, three dimensional virtual environments presents educators with a moment of creative possibility in designing the next generation of computer-assisted learning. At the same time, the fact that these environments may be inscribed with particular value sets and power relations presents educators with a burden of pedagogical responsibility. This paper attempts to begin a conversation about some of the hidden considerations that may be confronted as virtual learning environments become more accessible, acceptable, and assessable. The author challenges the view that virtual environments are reliably neutral venues for the creation of virtual identities that escape the culturally constructed power configurations of the offline world. Indeed, the very dichotomy between real and virtual is itself questionable. While the promise of virtual learning environments is real, it is often unrealized. Educators have a responsibility to critically engage the implicit assumptions embedded in the technology they would ask students to use.

Pick a Bookmark Collection or Course ePortfolio to put this material in or scroll to the bottom to create a new Bookmark Collection

Name the Bookmark Collection to represent the materials you will add

Describe the Bookmark Collection so other MERLOT users will know what it contains and if it has value for their work or teaching. Other users can copy your Bookmark Collection to their own profile and modify it to save time

Edit the information about the material in this {0}

Submitting Bookmarks...

Select this link to open drop down to add material Identity, Power, and Representation in Virtual Environments to your Bookmark Collection or Course ePortfolio

Select this link to close drop down of your Bookmark Collection or Course ePortfolio for material Identity, Power, and Representation in Virtual Environments

Select this link to open drop down to add material Identity, Power, and Representation in Virtual Environments to your Bookmark Collection or Course ePortfolio

Online learning is used in many institutions of higher education with course offerings ranging from complete online degrees...
see more

Online learning is used in many institutions of higher education with course offerings ranging from complete online degrees to hybrid virtual and physical courses. Online learning environments are complex environments using a variety of technologies and tools to overcome time and location restrictions. The research presented in this article focuses on a web-based asynchronous learning environment and the integration of usability factors into the evaluation of student learning outcomes. Usability tools are often employed in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) to measure the quality of a users experience when interacting with a web site and could potentially impact learning in web-based online learning environments. This study investigates the relationships between usability factors and learning outcomes in an online learning environment as well as differences in learning outcomes and system usability between several selected student groups, including student computer competency scores, gender, age, and student standing. The results of this survey-based study highlight the importance of integrating usability factors into the evaluation of learning outcomes in online learning environments.

Pick a Bookmark Collection or Course ePortfolio to put this material in or scroll to the bottom to create a new Bookmark Collection

Name the Bookmark Collection to represent the materials you will add

Describe the Bookmark Collection so other MERLOT users will know what it contains and if it has value for their work or teaching. Other users can copy your Bookmark Collection to their own profile and modify it to save time

Edit the information about the material in this {0}

Submitting Bookmarks...

Select this link to open drop down to add material Investigating the Connection between Usability and Learning Outcomes in Online Learning Environments to your Bookmark Collection or Course ePortfolio

Select this link to close drop down of your Bookmark Collection or Course ePortfolio for material Investigating the Connection between Usability and Learning Outcomes in Online Learning Environments

Select this link to open drop down to add material Investigating the Connection between Usability and Learning Outcomes in Online Learning Environments to your Bookmark Collection or Course ePortfolio

While American institutions of higher education still lead the world in quality of instruction, research and service, certain...
see more

While American institutions of higher education still lead the world in quality of instruction, research and service, certain trends are challenging their future. Immediate attention to resolving these issues is necessary if the American university is going to maintain world leadership in the foreseeable future. The theory of transactional distance is put forward as a roadmap for changing the industrial system of education to a post-industrial one in which each learner receives differential instruction based on his or her prior knowledge of the subject matter, learning preferences and metacognitive states. Management of learning and teaching is described in a dynamic environment in which learners can participate in defining the level of autonomy with which they are comfortable, and instructors can set the required level of structure according to the characteristics of each discipline taught thus providing the appropriate level of transactional distance at each point in time for each individual learner. Ramifications of this environment for the structure of the university are discussed and components of a future educational management system are specified.

Pick a Bookmark Collection or Course ePortfolio to put this material in or scroll to the bottom to create a new Bookmark Collection

Name the Bookmark Collection to represent the materials you will add

Describe the Bookmark Collection so other MERLOT users will know what it contains and if it has value for their work or teaching. Other users can copy your Bookmark Collection to their own profile and modify it to save time

Edit the information about the material in this {0}

Submitting Bookmarks...

Select this link to open drop down to add material Learning Management Systems of the Future: A Theoretical Framework and Design to your Bookmark Collection or Course ePortfolio

Select this link to close drop down of your Bookmark Collection or Course ePortfolio for material Learning Management Systems of the Future: A Theoretical Framework and Design

Select this link to open drop down to add material Learning Management Systems of the Future: A Theoretical Framework and Design to your Bookmark Collection or Course ePortfolio

This paper reports on an investigation into student conceptions of blended learning, (hybrid in US) in the light of their...
see more

This paper reports on an investigation into student conceptions of blended learning, (hybrid in US) in the light of their experience of a Higher Education Masters level module at a British university. The small scale study used a rigorous qualitative method to discover in the students words a range of conceptions relating to this learning experience. The students conceptions were related to the stage of study and an analysis of motivations for learning in this context. The study identified a new dimension of learning motivation with practical implications for attempting to blend traditional face-to-face teaching methods with online support and study options.

Pick a Bookmark Collection or Course ePortfolio to put this material in or scroll to the bottom to create a new Bookmark Collection

Name the Bookmark Collection to represent the materials you will add

Describe the Bookmark Collection so other MERLOT users will know what it contains and if it has value for their work or teaching. Other users can copy your Bookmark Collection to their own profile and modify it to save time

Edit the information about the material in this {0}

Submitting Bookmarks...

Select this link to open drop down to add material Self-aware and Self-directed: Student Conceptions of Blended Learning to your Bookmark Collection or Course ePortfolio

Select this link to close drop down of your Bookmark Collection or Course ePortfolio for material Self-aware and Self-directed: Student Conceptions of Blended Learning

Select this link to open drop down to add material Self-aware and Self-directed: Student Conceptions of Blended Learning to your Bookmark Collection or Course ePortfolio